"Now it's just gonna' be strange not having you around now. Who could I possibly talk to about all the cool skills and stuff I'll be getting?" Luke cried dramatically as him and Matthew entered the airport.
Matthew chuckled. "It's not like I'm dying. We can always just text each other. Y'know, the things most people who aren't 10 feet from each other do."
Luke just laughed. "Yeah yeah, I know. I'm just screwing with you."
"Are you just gonna' go back to going solo once I'm gone?" Matthew asked.
Luke shrugged. "Unless I have a reason not to. Although I'll just stick with low ranking dungeons for now. Don't wanna tempt fate... again." The pair chuckled.
The morning up till then had been less then eventful. The only thing that had occurred was having breakfast at a cafe nearby. All things considered, it was probably the best waffles Matthew had ever had.
After that it was simply packing Matthew's things and heading to the airport.
"What about you?" Luke asked. "You gonna' go off bragging about your power up or something back at your guild?"
Matthew let out a light laugh. "No, nothing like that. I might talk to the guild manager to promote me to a squad captain though. The extra cash wouldn't be unwelcome."
"I feel like they'd notice that you're over twice as strong as when you left." Luke noted, but Matthew just waved his hand as if swatting the issue away.
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now though, it'll just be nice to finally get back home. I miss my bed, and Dallas. And the guild." He began.
"Think you forgot to add your coffee maker to that list." Luke chuckled, getting a punch in the shoulder for the comment.
The banter between the two hunters continued as they stopped at the security checkpoint of the airport.
"Guess this is where we part ways." Matthew said, a tinge of sorrow in his voice.
"Better start visiting me more. Maybe I'll start stopping by Texas once in a while." Luke said with a smile, making one reappear to Matthew's face.
Matthew waved goodbye to his friend for the first time in ages as he walked through the checkpoint and off towards his home across the country.
***
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[Name: Matthew Adams]
[Level: 25]
[Job: None]
[HP: 195/195]
[MP: 98/98]
[Available Status Points: 10]
[Strength: 42]
[Agility: 53 (+5)]
[Vigor: 39]
[Intelligence: 39]
[Sense: 43]
[Faith: 43]
[Skills]
[Active: Healing Hands, Phantom Spears, Genesis]
[Passive: Spear Proficiency]
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Matthew glanced over his stats as he rested onto his plane seat.
For the moment at least, he had his row of seats to himself, although he didn't expect that comfort to last much longer.
He looked to his 10 points he could send to any of his stats, but the question still burned in his mind of, which one. Technically Faith was never a bad option, most of his skills scaled with it anyways. But still, it felt like he was constantly lacking in so many aspects.
Before he had thought his stats were well off as they were. He could kill most magic beasts around his level fairly easily.
He simply thought of himself as well rounded. A true Jack of all trades. That was, until he nearly died at the hands of the armored vampire. He'd finally found what he was lacking: Vigor.
While the armored vampire would have hit hard regardless of Matthew's stats, it had become overwhelming clear how fragile he was, even if he had the strength of a C-rank hunter.
Throughout his time with the system, he hadn't increased his vigor stat even once. So far he was relying on his level ups to increase his vigor, but with how strong some creatures he would ultimately face would be he couldn't afford to constantly be knocking on death's door.
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[Vigor: 39 > 49]
[HP: 195/195 > 245/245]
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Matthew couldn't help be crack a smile as his HP exceeded 200. It had been only two days ago when the number had been a measly 50.
Combined with his healing skill and decently sized storage of MP, he could fill his HP nearly twice.
Next was a skill he'd been thinking about constantly since he'd gotten it: [Genesis].
Matthew reached out and pressed the skill. Suddenly a smaller screen appeared before him.
The first thing that came to Matthew's mind was the crafting screen of some video games he used to play before he had awakened.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Two scroll wheels flanked a shimmering addition symbol. Below the symbol was a greyed-out 0% above which read the words 'synergy'.
Matthew flipped through the small scroll wheel, each option showing the name of one of his skills, with the exception of [Genesis].
Matthew quickly shifted the options to the two skills he'd thought of merging from the start.
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[Phantom Spears]
+
[Spear Proficiency]
Synergy: 87%
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He tapped a finger over his chin for a moment before changing the skills.
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[Phantom Spears]
+
[Healing Hands]
Synergy: 18%
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Matthew pursed his lips together. Of course the two would have less synergy.
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[Healing Hands]
+
[Spear Proficiency]
Synergy: 40%
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Matthew crossed his arms now. "I guess 'proficiency' is kind of a blanket term." His hand hovered over the accept button at the bottom of the screen before he simply moved it away. "The synergy is only 40%... I shouldn't risk it." He muttered to himself as he switched the skills once again.
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[Phantom Spears]
+
[Spear Proficiency]
Synergy: 87%
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With some slight hesitation Matthew pressed the 'merge' button.
A glow burst from the screen, causing Matthew to squint from the light only he could see.
When he opened his eyes he saw a new skill.
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[Golden Spears]
[Rank: C+]
[Type: Active]
[MP Cost: N/A]
[Description: You can channel mana into the surfaces around you to cause spears of radiance to burst from the surface. The maximum area of this skill can be increased by using varying amounts of mana.]
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Matthew raised a brow at the mana cost of the skill. Then he read its description. At the very least it seemed much more versatile then [Phantom Spears] as he could now pour as much mana as he needed into the skill.
Then Matthew had an idea. It might have been a not-well-thought idea, but an idea nonetheless.
He touched the armrest of the vacant seat next to him and concentrated a small amount of mana onto the surface.
[MP: 98/98 > 97/98]
Suddenly, a small glowing blot appeared on the armrest. It wasn't very large, no wider then about half the size of Matthew's palm.
Matthew waited half a second as nothing seemed to happen. He reached his hand forward, about to dump another point of MP into the spot when suddenly a small golden spearhead thrust up from the glowing blot.
The spearhead rose nearly three inches from the spot it came from and lingered for a moment.
Matthew ran a finger along the edge of the golden spearhead, it was sharp, very sharp.
Without warning the spearhead suddenly burst into minuet fragments of golden light before fading away.
"Interesting." Matthew noted, gazing down at his hand. "I'll have to test that once I actually land." He said as he leaned back in his seat and relaxed for the long flight ahead of him.
***
It felt good to be back in Texas. The heat was a big difference of course, but it felt like he finally was in a landscape of towering skyscrapers in every direction for miles.
Technically, towering buildings still flanked him in all directions as he exited the airport, but that wouldn't last much longer.
"Ah, I missed this car." He cried as he finally took a seat in his silver Hyundai. His luggage sat in the forever-vacant back seat.
He immediately turned on the car to hear the hum of the engine and the roar of the AC as it began to cool the sun-baked interior of the vehicle.
Just as Matthew got comfortable in his car, he felt his phone ring.
He put the phone on speaker and set it in his lap as he began driving.
"Mat, you're back! Did you just get off the plane?"
Audri's energetic voice rang through the air bringing a light smile to Matthew's face.
"I just got in my car. I'm heading to my house to unpack." Matthew replied.
"Dang it. I was a bit off. I think I read the landing time from New York's time rather than Texas. I wanted to be the first person to welcome you back."
Matthew let out a chuckle at his friend's tone. "Well you still are. I haven't gotten call nor text of anyone yet. You're the first person I've talked to since landing."
Audri gasped. "Wait really?! I would've thought that a ton of the guild would be welcoming you back."
"That would be nice, but no."
Audri's voice dropped. "People don't really care about E-ranks anymore, do they?"
Matthew was confused for all but a second. He'd grown to much in power so quickly he'd almost forgotten where he had been just a few days ago: at the bottom of the awakened ladder.
"Did anyone ever?"
"Maybe back in the first days of the awakening. My dad was an E-rank, and he was pretty well respected."
"That's whenever any hunter was well respected. Even A-ranks back then were considered gods."
Audri clicked her tongue. "Yeah I guess that's true. Anything interesting happen while in the Big Apple?"
Matthew's mind immediately went to the chaotic week he'd had. From the moment he stepped foot in the double dungeon, to getting the system and, for the first time since awakening, feeling like he's grown. He now had more skills then he thought he could ever achieve in his career as a hunter.
"I met an S-rank." Matthew calmly stated.
"YOU DID?!" Audri shouted, making Matthew flinch. "Who was it?"
"He was a friend of the friend I went to see. His name was Blake.. something. I don't think I'd gotten his last name."
"You met the Steel Soldier?!" Audri shouted in disbelief.
Matthew raised a brow. "He has a nickname?"
"You didn't know?!" Audri shouted.
Matthew let out a chuckle. "Wasn't aware you were a fan."
"Of course I am? Dang it, I should have told you about the S-ranks in New York in case you'd met one. You could have gotten their autograph." Audri whined.
"If it makes you feel any better I was unconscious the first time I met him."
"You were what?!" She shouted.
Matthew mentally slapped himself in the face at the mention of the dungeon break. Of course Audri would be worried.
"It's nothing I'd just-"
"Mat, what happened in New York?" Audri demanded, putting an end to Matthew's attempt at explaining himself.
Matthew mentally slapped himself again before he spoke. "There... uhh... was a.. dungeon break." He muttered the last part under his breath.
"There was a what? Speak up." She demanded.
"There was a dungeon break... and I got swept up in it." Matthew explained. "There was this... knight who roughed me up a bit. But I'm fine now?"
"Who else was there? How long could you hold it off? What rank was the dungeon?"
Matthew sighed lightly at the bombardment of questions before answering. "Mainly me and Luke, the friend I went to visit. About 5 minutes. And... I'm not really sure."
"Damnit Matthew. This is why I tell you to be careful." She let out a relieved sigh. "At least you're fine now at least."
Suddenly Matthew cursed as he slammed on the breaks as a small crowd of people ran across the street. Matthew was about to honk his horn when he noticed the expression on their faces: Worry.
Matthew pulled to the side of the road and craned his neck to see around the bend in the road.
Several police vehicles had been lined up and sectioned off an entire area of the road. Several officers guided traffic around the block and kept a small group of people from rushing passed.
Beyond the blockage was a large swirling blue portal crackling with static at its edges.
"Hold on, there's a gate here." Matthew said as he parked his car on the side of the road, grabbed his bag from the passenger's seat and left the vehicle.
"Wait, don't-" Matthew hung up the call as he approached the mass of citizens.
One woman in particular was trying to push passed the officer with more desperation. Tears were streaming down both her cheeks as she tried to pry the hands of the officer off of herself. "My son is in there?! Why didn't you see him?! He ran right in!" She shouted.
"What's happening? What happened to your son?" Matthew quickly asked, halting her cries for a brief moment.
"My son ran into the gate when it had opened. He's only 12. Please, someone needs to go in there. He's been in there nearly half an hour."
By the end of her spiel, Matthew had already pulled his spear from his bag as he stepped passed the barrier towards the gate.
"Sir you can't-" the officer was cut off as Matthew flashed him his hunting license, although he did it quickly as to not show is licensed rank.
"I'll get your son out of the gate ma'am. You have my word." He said as he stepped forward, through the gate, for the first time in his life, alone.